Rack for boots, shoes, and the like



Sept. 25, 1923.

J. s. CANTI-:Lo

RACK FOR BOOTS, SHOES, AND THE LIKE Patented Sept. 25, 1923.

JOHN s. cnnrnrgo, or Boeren, MASSACHUSETTS; 's i nnen roaiseors, serons, AND entri-z.LinnV l Appiiation sied` February 11, .isie'gseriainoi77,657. Renew/eti zruiyis, i920, serial No; 395,995. l'

To @ZZ whom t may cof/wcm. Y

Be it known that I, JOHN S; Carmiano, a` citizen of the United States,- residing in Boston, in the county of Su'ftolk and State ot- Massachusetts, have invented certain new andf useful Improvements in Racks for Boots, Shoes, andthe like, of which the tollowing is av specification. Y

The present invention relates toi/mprolve ments in racks for boots, shoes and the like. In racks as? heretofore: usedl great'diculty has been experienced due to' the Wear. and tear'to which a rack is subjected in moving; from place to place in the shoe factory. There is no provision' made for compensating for changes in effects due to change'sfini temperature or in atmospheric conditions generally, or due to the natural/shrinkage of t'he materal employed inl the rack construction. These changes in the rack parts and the shrinkage ofl the Wood or other material of which' the rack is made cause the rack to become rickety, annoying and comparatively short-lived, which renders it eX-,

pensive, as it necessitates replacement of the rack upon comparatively short life of thelatter. i Y l Y The object. of my invention, therefore, is to2Y provide a shoe rack which shall compensatefor changes therein due to changes inv atmospheric conditionsl and. for 4any looseness due to shrinkage' ofthe rack trays or supports, thus saving inivear and tear on the racks, and the consequent annoyance due to ricketiness, and toy cheapen rack maintenance byV increasingthe length of life ot the same. rack, that is, wherein no means is provided for compensating for eiects dueto changes: in atmospheric conditions, etc., I approki' mate, as nearly as itv is possibleto do in'v such primitive rack constructiointhe resultsheretofore set forth, by providing aj centralsupport or central posts between'the.trays.` These posts or supportsarelocated between the respective trays,` substantially vin theV center of the rackr andmidway of. the length thereof.v This-feature inthe construction of racks as made by ine isvnovel to the best.

ovmy know-ledge, and` it` has been avery effective one gl and while not disclaimingthev invention thereof` inf its broad form to the application of rack construction generally,

In the more simple Vforms of,

I prefer to embody .it in my'improved Jforni, or specilic type ot rack construction, thatis illustrated and described herein. f

'Y Ainother object of my inventionisto pro'- vide a structure which shall eliminate the possibility of marring the shoes by strikingf' them against the tray supporting members and also to prevent lockingof the racks to-v gether While being moved past'each other,

a difficulty Which is sometimes'experienced with racksV aslieretotore made. rIhe manner n: .which the above objects are accomplished will be more specifically illustrated and-"desAv scribed inl the accompanying specication andY drawing in which Fig. lais. an isometric Vview of my improved-slice rack showing the .7A- of Fig; 2 Yshovving'a reenior'cing.- piece,

and the manner of fastening the tic-rods.'

IeferringA more'specifically to .the drfarv-V ings-1, Fig. l, represents a standard or truck which may be provided4 vvitlif castors 2,. as'fin liig; i for moving the rack vfrom' place to place; 3, a and k5 represent rack trays sup-f pcrtedrby the standard or truck. It'fivill lie.- nnderstoodthatavhile I have illustrated only three travs, any number ci@ trays may be provided Consistent with the height of rvhichfitl is desired to make the rack.i 'It' will beV seen that in this figure I have chosen vfor thepiirpose of illustration a speciiicfforin ofr'a'ckzin `which theV trays f are f staggered tvith Afre-v spect to each other. By arranging a rackfin this 4Way itispossible to eliminate the. likeli hood met with. inA v,other forms QmQrack `oit-: i

striking the` shoes against. :the supporting members.betWeenf-the trays and also of locking together of the racks whilethey are b "e ing moved past each` otherf Another 'advantage is that it vis'possibleto Vo'btaiinfrv'ith this type of rack ai minimuin'ot height? ot' rack'r a given shoe ,capacity-Q and thisis a "loe i substantial advantage in a shoe factory, as the loweil the racks the eas'er it is for the foreman and others to see over their tops. However, l disclaim the staggered rack per se as my invention, but have elected to iepiesent it as the preferred forni in Y which to embody my invent-ion. and l do claim the s iecilic construction of staggered rack whereby it is possible to eliminate corner posts, against whichv Vthe shoes might be struck and marred as a consequence. l support the trays above referred to means of the posts 6, 6. rl`he trays are made of any substantial wood, and theposts 6, 6 also, can be made of either wood or metal, and they are hollow. The trays 3, 4l and 5 are made with substantial frames having niortise and tenon joints at their corners, as at 7, 7, having bolts 8 passing therethrough. rlhe traysare reenforced by means of a cross-piece 9 extending the width of the tray and being `located midway of the length thereof, or substantially so. Extending between the ends of the trays and passing through the cross-piece 9 are rounds 10 which forin a bottom for the tray'upoii which the shoes are placed. The ends of the trays are bifurcated at the joint in order thatv the sides may be inserted therein in mortise and tenori fashion, and the bifurcation extends into slits 11 into which slits are inserted the corner reenforcing pieces 12 provided with flaps 13 andlll, Fig. 5, one of which flaps may be turned up at one corner and the other turned down at its corresponding corner.

The standard 1 is niade of channel iron 15, the lower portion 15 of which extends iiiwardly to form a shelf or support for a box or other receptacle 16, Fig. 6. VrEhe channel iron may be mitre joined at the ends and be reenforced by end pieces lsuitably riveted or spot welded to the channel iron section, as at 18. It is to be understood that there are other end reenforcing pieces beneath the pieces 17 at the lower end of the channel iron section, but these do not show in the drawings. K As previously stated, the trays 3, i, 5, are supported by means of hollow posts 6, G, and there are a pair of posts between each tray and the trays above and below it'. Suitably fastened to the channel iron^15 is an inwardly projecting plate 19`which forms a` support for the posts between it and the lowermost tray of the rack. Beneath this support and the inwardly protruding portion '15 of the channel iron are shortposts 6, as

Vbest illustrated in Fig. 7. `Extending continuouslyfthrough all the trays and through the hollow supporting posts are tie rods 2G terminating in hooks 21, Fig. 7. Each end piece of each tray is provided with additional angle-iron reenforceinents 22, 23, preterably of metal, as best illustrated'in Figs. 3 and '7. A7Wherever these are provided, the ends of the adjoining posts seat thereon, the

upper post on the top angle-iron 22 and the lower one on the bottoni angle-iron 23, as illustrated in F ig. 7. This construction serves to provide a certain automatic adjustment for any looseness which may develop in the.

rack parts, as it will be noticed that these angle-irons, being in separate pieces, are free to automatically adjust themselves.

In addition tro the crosspiece 9 provided Y port 24,. the tie-rod extending through whichV terminates in an adjusting nut 25. ln fact, each of the tie-rods of the rack terminates in such a nut. Y

In Fig. 4; I have illustrated an unstaggered forni of rack provided with the'supporting and adjusting means of my invention, which particularly enables a central reenforcemeiit or support 26 to be used, whose function is similar to that of the support 24 i in the construction, Fig.V Y1.

Assuming that, during the use and wear and tear to which a rack is subjected, any looseness in the rack parts is developed, it is only necessary to tighten up the bolts 25, when the rack again becomessolid and rigid for a long period, and thus the rack is not allowed to deteriorate and become rickety and necessitate frequent replacement. The substantial means of rigid support which I provide also enables full advantage to be taken of the staggering feature of raclrA construction, giving a clear vision abovethe racks on the factory iioor without loss in rack capacity, and by my specific manner of eliminating corner supports or obstructions,

eliminating, the possibility of damage or inarring of the shoes when they are inserted or taken out of the raclrs. Y

l do not wish to be confined to the details of construction herein shown and described` `W hat l claim as new and desireto secure'V l by Letters Pateiit'of the United States is:

1. A rack for boots, shoes and thel like` comprising a truck base, a plurality of shoe holding Ytrays of wood, and means for supporting said trays in spaced apart relationA above said base consisting in series of tie rods extending from said base up through all of said trays with spacing sleeves fitted on said rods and engaging adjacent trays from above and Vbeneath respectively, said trays having metallic inserts in the wood thereof for engagement by said sleeves and clamping nuts engaged with "said rods adapted to Y Yifieaasco Y corners and with said corners reinforced by metallic plates imbedded therein, each of said plates having projecting flap portions turned transversely to engage the respective sides of the tray frame.

3. In a rack for boots, slices and the lilre,

the combination with a plurality of trays, a truclr for the raclr made of channel iron having an inner protruding flange to act as a support for abox or other receptacle, spacing members between the trays and truck, suitable means for securing the trays and truck rigidly together, and supplementary adjustable means cooperating` with the first lmentioned means tok compensate for wear or shrinkage of the parts developed during use in order to maintain a rigid rack structure.

Ll. A rack for boots and shoes, comprising a truck, a plurality of shoe holding trays with end bars and center bars mounted thereon, in combination with dividing posts vertically located between the end bars and center bars of said trays, said dividing posts being in combination with rods passing vertically through said bars and through said dividing posts thus uniting said truck and plurality of trays in reinforced relation with each other, said rods being provided with means for the adjustment of shrinkage of the plurality of said cross bars.

5. A rack for boots and shoes, comprising a plurality of shoe holding trays mounted on a portable base frame, the corners of said trays being slitted horizontally, said slits'receiving metallic reinforce plates-and also being for more yieldable adjustment, and adjusting rods passing vertically through said slitted corners and having in combination therewith dividing members v fitted thereon and located between the trays and between the lowermost tray and the portable base, said rods having means cooperative therewith for taking up of vertical looseness which may be caused by shrinkage of the wood and also for rigidly bridging and uniting the combined structure together. Y

6. A rack for boots and shoes, comprising a base frame, a plurality of shoe holding trays mounted thereon i n combination with dividing posts holding said trays spread from one another and from the base frame, with adjustable rods extending from top to bottom of the rack for taking up shrinirage, also for bridging the combined structure and to hold the same rigidly together, said trays mounted on said base alternately overlapping oiie over the other.

7. A. rack for boots and shoes, comprising a .base frame, a plurality of'fshoeholding trays, said trays having end bars-andl transversev cross bars substantially midway of the lengthV thereof with. a plurality of dov/'elsl passing through the lower edgesv of! said cross bars and terminating in the end bars of. said trays, vertical dividing posts located: betweensaid cross bars, and clamping rods assinffvverticallf through vsaid cross bars' i .e .l e

and vertical dividing posts and terminating rods equipped with means of adjusting for Y at the under side of said base frame,lsaid"V 4 shrinkage andV also for bridgingV the central portion of the trays and holding the sameV in rigidly assembled relation with said posts and said truck, and for the purpose of pre'- venting sagging of the trays. i

8. A. rack forboots and shoes, comprising a base frame, a plurality of shoe holding trays in .combination with dividing posts and clamping rods holding said trays in spaced apart relation with each other, the corners of the trays being reinforced with metallic plates inserted therein on va plane Y withV the trays, said plates projecting over the Vend and sides ofthecorners of said trays,-said projections being turned against the respective ends and sides for the pur-v pose of holding the ends and sides in rigidr Y 9. A rack for boots and shoes, comprising relation with each other.

a base frame, a plurality of shoe holding trays mounted over each other in alternate and overlapping relation with one another, said trays being held apart from each other and fromsaid truck `by spacing posts, the combination being held in position by adjustable clamping rods, the outside cornersk 'Y of said trays being provided with fastening means passing vertically through the saine for the purpose of reinforcing said corners Y and adjusting shrinkage; y

Y 10. A raclr for boots and shoes, comprising a truck frame, a plurality of shoe hold-` ing trays'niounted thereon in combination bwith dividing posts holding said trays spread from 'one another and from the truck frame, said dividing posts being located approximately transversely central of the ends.V of the 'trays and near the corners of eachalteriiate tray, said plurality of tray ends and spacing posts being provided withrodspassingvertically therethrough and terminating at .the bottom of tlieQtruck' frame, said rods being provided with means for Vdrawing ,together the combined structure j and'for the purpose of holding down and 'Y preventing the'sagging of the overhang ofv the alternate trays. Y

ll. Aportable rack for boot and shoe carrying, comprising a truck base as described made of channel iron the openings of said channel facing each other, said truck being mounted with a plurality of shoe holding trays, said trays being inortised and tenoned at their corners, in Combination With reinforced plates and horizontal slits as shown Ywherein the plates are insertedy said slits being extended from the niortise 5 for the purpose of more yieldable adjustment When drawing the upper and lower sides of said mortise against said tenon and reinforced plate, in case of shrinkage, said shrinkage being adjusted by combination of clamping rods dividing posts as described. 10 In testimony whereof have vaffixed my signature.

JOHN S. CANTELO. 

